


just give them shelter [ like you've done for me ]

by eternalmagic



Series: strifehart week [4]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, M/M, Strifehart Week 2018, ellone from ff8 and sora from kh both make appearances but not for long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 11:09:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16117178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternalmagic/pseuds/eternalmagic
Summary: You're never alone in the Drift. Somehow, he'd forgotten that.[ strifehart week 2018 day 4: apocalypse. ]





	just give them shelter [ like you've done for me ]

**Author's Note:**

> hello, and welcome to day 4! this was one of the prompts i was looking forward to the most, and i'm excited to be able to share this with you. i've been planning a much larger kingdom hearts/pacific rim au, so getting a chance to write even this small little sliver of it like this was perfect.
> 
> a quick note, though, for clarity: there is a section that has two people speaking; the two characters are differentiated by one in bold letters and the other in italics. it makes sense in context.
> 
> the title is from madeon and porter robinson's song [shelter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQnC1UHBvWA). this might be a bit more somber than the song, but i still felt it fit pretty well. anyway, i hope you enjoy!

" _ Way to Dawn, bogey on your 4 _ ."   
  
Cloud turns, his copilot doing the same. The jaeger turns its head in a similar manner, moving in time to its pilots’ movements. Through the monitor in front of them, Cloud can see the kaiju coming towards them, lumbering along on its four legs, each as big around as smokestacks.   
  
"Copy that." Squall says, nodding once. "Brace for impact."   
  
Quickly, the two pilots turn the jaeger to face the kaiju making its way toward them, arms thrown up in front in an attempt to brace itself against the creature. Cloud mirrors Squall as the brunette sets a foot forward, hoping to help maintain his balance. Both pilots clench their jaws as the kaiju closes in, almost seeming to pick up speed with every step.

The world seems to slow as the monster rams into Way to Dawn in a way Cloud finds all too familiar, from his old piloting days. Cloud feels the impact jolt through his body--not enough to be painful just yet--and can almost feel how far the jaeger skids back from the force of it.

“Okay over there?” Squall asks, voice tense. Cloud hums, confirming his status mentally more than verbally. The Drift will make sure Squall knows.

No words need to be said for their next action to be decided upon. They do a one-two punch, leading with Squall’s right side and following with Cloud’s left. Flutters of memories of schoolyard fights wander to the forefront of his mind, a mix of both his own and Squall’s. The kaiju staggers as the first punch lands, and then the second. Cloud can’t help the excited laugh that’s pulled from his throat.

“ _ Way to Dawn engaged! _ ” The LOCCENT officer in charge of this operation says through comms. “ _ Destiny’s Embrace is 30 miles out and closing in on your location _ .”

“About time they showed up!” Cloud shouts back. He pulls back his arm for another punch. He hears a breathy laugh from the other side of the conn pod. He doesn’t need to look over to see how wide Squall’s smile is.

The next set of punches all land easily. Though it’s been a while since either of them was in a jaeger, their experience is already shining through. Slowly, Way to Dawn pushes the kaiju back closer to the bay. The kaiju makes each step hard-won, matching the jaeger blow for blow. With each hit that lands, Cloud’s chest swells more and more with confidence.

What a way to get back in the game.

That confidence is squashed quickly enough to be cruel. The kaiju manages to dodge a punch from Cloud’s side. It takes the opportunity to whirl around, slamming its tail into Way to Dawn’s exposed side.

Cloud winces as a pain shoots up his side, and almost instantly, he can feel a wave of concern flit through from the other end of the Drift.   
  
"You alright?" Squall calls over the roar of the monster before them, his voice sounding moments after Cloud hears the thought in his own head.   
  
"Fine!" Cloud calls back. "Let's just finish this bastard off!"   
  
Cloud feels more than sees the smile on Squall's face. "Don't have to tell me twice. Bring our cannons online so we can blast through!"   
  
Cloud reaches up with his free hand to the console overhead, flicking the startup switch for Way to Dawn’s plasma cannons. The holographic display for the cannon appears around both of their forearms, and Cloud feels a smile tugging at his lips. “Cannons online and ready to charge power.”   
  
He feels a foreign sense of acknowledgement filter through his mind, and moves in time with Squall as the brunette steadies his hand for the cannon. Cloud leans further forward to push back against the kaiju, a mirror to his copilot’s position, and sets his arm in position as well. The electronic voice of the jaeger’s computer system begins to recite the countdown until the cannon is ready.

Just as the cannon reaches optimal power, the kaiju roars and surges forward with some newfound well of strength. Squall calls out in surprise, and both pilots lose their footing.   
  
A sudden wave of panic fills Cloud’s mind as they both scramble to regain balance--at first it's a foreign feeling, coming from Squall's end of their neural link. A memory flashes before his eyes, of a different jaeger, a different time, different place. He feels the panic rising up, his heart suddenly in his throat, and a phantom flash of pain sears through his lower right leg. A pair of screams, one masculine and the other feminine, ring in his ears, and for a terrible moment he can't breathe. It cuts short almost eerily, but by then it’s too late--Cloud can feel his own panic replacing Squall’s.   
  
" _ Both pilots out of alignment! _ " He hears, distantly, but it's immediately drowned out by everything else.   
  
Cloud feels his chest seizing with fear and blood roaring in his ears. He screws his eyes shut, gasping in shallow breaths to try and collect himself.   
  
When he opens his eyes, the conn pod around him is familiar--achingly so, though it's a place that he never thought he'd actually see again. It's no longer Way to Dawn, but Midgar Avenger. Cloud swallows thickly, taking stock of the situation. It's hard to do with a kaiju roaring loud enough to shatter glass, rain pelting against the monitors and his helmet. Wind whips around him, as if the conn pod has been torn open on the opposite side from where he's attached to the rigging.

The city skyline shining faintly in the distance is also familiar, perhaps a little too much. Midgar Avenger is standing in the middle of the bay, a typhoon swirling around it. Pain flutters across Cloud’s skin as feedback from the mech itself. He sees messes of wires sparking amidst the rain filling the conn pod.

Cloud knows that something about this is wrong, that he’s supposed to be in Way to Dawn and not his old jaeger, but he can't seem to think straight.   
  
_ Cloud! _   
  
When he looks up, he sees not slate blue eyes, but instead the sky, black hair trapped inside the helmet, rain streaming down their drive suits. Cloud is unable to say anything for several long moments.   
  
“Zack?” He asks, heart suddenly in his throat.   
  
Something in his mind is screaming at him, screaming  **Cloud stop, don’t--this is wrong** but he can’t help but stare at his copilot, his friend, his  _ brother _ .   
  
_ Cloud, you need to get out of here! _ Zack shouts over the noise in the conn pod--  **stop, don’t chase the** \--  _ You have to eject now, or _ \--   
  
Zack is cut off mid sentence by an ear-splitting noise. Both pilots turn to watch in horror as an alien talon wrenches open the conn pod even more. Before Cloud's eyes, the conn pod is ripped clean in half and his copilot is pulled from his place, leaving sparking wires in his wake. Cloud hears screaming, something guttural, blood-curdling, broken, and it's what feels like an eternity before he realizes the sound is coming from his own throat. He’s screaming Zack’s name, hand outstretched though he knows he'll never be able to reach.   
  
He knows this isn't real. Some part of his mind is reminding him that Zack is gone, has been for years, but he's reliving that night as if it's happening for the first time. His heart clenches so painfully in his chest, his body is racked with the memory of pain at the sudden disconnection of his copilot, that it honestly could be.   
  
Faintly, he thinks he hears another voice calling to him, someone begging him--  _ you need to let go of the memory, stop chasing _ \--  **I'msorryI'msorry** **_I'msorry_ ** \--but the throbbing in his head is becoming too much. He winces, hands coming up to either side of his head in a vain attempt to soothe the pain. Hidden behind the pain, he thinks he feels something disconnect with his mind, the presence of someone else torn away. Were he more aware, he might have reacted to it.   
  
Instead, he can't think of anything beyond the pain. The world around him fades to black.   
  
“--the simulator!” He hears, when he comes to--had he blacked out? Cloud doesn’t know. He feels the helmet being unfastened at the base of his neck, gently lifted off of his head. Hands cup his cheeks, and when Cloud opens his eyes, they meet slate blue.   
  
“Wh--” Cloud begins, finding his throat burning still.   
  
Squall hushes him, eyes filled with concern. “It's alright--they took us out of the Drift, and ended the simulation. We're both okay.”   
  
It takes the blonde a moment to register the words, remember anything from before he got lost in his memories--right. Simulation, to test how Cloud would Drift with Squall, to see if they'd be able to pilot a jaeger should the need arise. Not real.   
  
Cloud's eyes flutter closed, and he sucks in a breath. His head still throbs dully and his throat is raw, but he feels better than when he was still in the throes of the Drift and busy chasing the R.A.B.I.T. The memory of Zack's death is at the forefront of his mind now, though, leaving him feeling more vulnerable emotionally than he would care to admit. He leans forward, resting his forehead on the cool material of the drive suit at Squall's shoulder. A hand cradles the place where his head meets his neck, and slowly the panic still coloring the edges of Cloud's mind fades.   
  
He's okay. He's not in danger. He's not going to lose his copilot.   
  
He hears Squall let out an unsteady breath, and the hand in his hair presses a little more securely against him. "I'm sorry," Squall starts, voice quiet and raw with emotion in a way Cloud's never heard before, "I'm the one who got us out of alignment--"   
  
"It's fine." Cloud murmurs, an obvious lie. He feels something filter through his mind, through the traces of the Drift that linger immediately after the connection ends. Squall knows he's lying.   
  
"No it's not." Squall says. "I didn't...you didn't need to relive anything. I'm sorry."   
  
Cloud can't muster up a response, other than letting out a tired sigh. It's been at least a year since he last Drifted with someone, been in this suit, been in a jaeger (even if it was only a simulation). He feels tired all the way down to his bones.   
  
"Can you stand?"   
  
"Not really." Cloud whispers. "Legs feel like jelly."   
  
He feels Squall nod briefly. "Okay. I'm going to lift you to your feet, and then we'll go get cleaned up."   
  
Once Cloud gives him the okay, Squall lifts Cloud to his feet in one swift movement. The blonde doesn't even try to take a step, knowing that if he tried, he'd only collapse back to the floor of the simulator. Squall half-guides, half-carries Cloud out of the room to where a couple of technicians are on standby, ready to help the two pilots remove their drivesuits. The moment the skin-tight suit is removed, Cloud feels better, like he's finally able to breathe again. He glances briefly to Squall, but he can't quite see the brunette's face. He catches a few quite curses as the helmet gets caught on Squall's long hair, and can't help a tiny bit of a laugh in spite of the twin pain he feels at the base of his scalp.

Without too much strain, Squall lifts Cloud when they're out of their suits. After a quick conversation, they both decide it would be best to just return to their shared suite in the barracks instead of trying to get a meal. Squall leads the way back, and upon arriving gently helps Cloud onto his cot for a nap.

As he settles under his sheets, he feels a hand ghost across his forehead, brushing the hair from his face. He feels Squall take his hand gently, squeezing once, before Cloud lets himself succumb to slumber.

 

 

He wakes some time later to find that he’s alone in the room. The door leading to the suite he shares with Squall and Rinoa is ajar, however, and he can hear voices filtering through the opening. Cloud blinks, face scrunching as he wakes up further. There’s a pleasant buzzing sensation at the base of his skull, though he has to admit that he’s puzzled by its presence. A hand lifts to where it feels strongest, but just as he runs his fingers along his scalp, the sensation goes away.

Cloud sits up with a quiet grunt, screwing his eyes shut. Something warm and relaxed tugs at the edge of his thoughts, and for a moment he doesn’t know why. But then he remembers--he’s always this way after Drifting. Zack had always said that Cloud was always more sensitive, always felt the effects of the Ghost Drift more than anyone he knew. Auron was the same, though he seemed more annoyed, less excited than Zack.

The warm feeling fogging his mind must be from the other side--Squall. Cloud is thankful that it's there, as it helps keep his mind off of their failed simulation earlier in the day.

Cloud slowly gets to his feet, padding to the bathroom and running cool water over his face. He fills his small glass and downs it almost too quickly, but it’s still not enough to ease away the rawness in his throat. Cloud’s eyes flutter closed and he stands there, leaning over his bathroom sink, for what feels like forever.

He catches snippets of thoughts, emotions, memories, through what remains of his neural link with Squall. A sister’s smile. A hand in his hair. A soft voice singing a lullaby. The buzzing sensation begins again at the nape of his neck, more intense than before. The voices from the other room grow just a little bit louder. Cloud lifts his head, studying the brightened doorway before finally deciding to step into the central room of the suite.

The central room is not much larger than any of the bedrooms connected to it, just enough to have a table at the center and a small kitchenette. Cloud supposed that was how most officer's quarters were, though he never got a room nearly as nice back in the Hollow Bastion Shatterdome. Guess the Marshalls here were better than that old man who ran the HB 'dome when it came to treating their officers well. The room is modestly decorated, with handfuls of photographs from the other two Rangers posted on the walls around them.

Cloud finds Squall sitting at the table in the center of the room, his head tilted forward as a woman runs a hair clipper along the nape of his neck. She's a few inches shorter than Cloud, her brown hair reaching just below her chin and framing her face in a pretty sort of way. She's smiling softly as she runs her hands through Squall's hair--if Cloud focuses hard enough, he thinks he can feel the same thing on his own scalp. A young man with short, spiky brown hair is sitting with his back to Cloud, gesturing wildly with his hands as he speaks.

As Cloud takes another step forward, the woman glances up briefly from her work and blinks when she notices Cloud. Then, she moves the clippers from Squall's neck and says, "Oh--Cloud Strife, is that right?"

All eyes in the room turn to him, and Cloud swallows thickly, not sure he enjoys the attention. He clears his throat and nods, not sure he trusts his voice just yet.

"It's nice to officially meet you, then." The woman smiles, something warm and gentle. It's a smile that Cloud remembers, though the memory isn't his own. "My name is Ellone, and this is my son, Sora."

The young man beams and wiggles his fingers at Cloud. "Hiya."

Cloud waves a little back. He can't help but wince internally at how raspy his voice sounds as he says, "It's a pleasure."

When he looks up again, he meets Squall's eyes. The brunette's expression is open, more open than Cloud's seen it before. The brunette gestures Cloud to come closer, pulling a chair closer to his side. “Sora, would you mind heating up some water for a pot of tea? I think Rin keeps some of her herbal teas in the cabinets."

"Sure thing, Uncle Squall!" The boy pops up from his chair in an instant, beaming at Cloud as he passes.

The blonde steps forward, taking the seat that Squall has pulled out for him. Almost immediately, Squall reaches out a hand, catching Cloud's and holding it gently. A sense of calm floats into Cloud's mind. He wonders if Squall is feeling things through the Ghost Drift, or if he’s not as sensitive to it; how would he have known that Cloud wanted tactile contact like that if he couldn’t sense something? Cloud squeezes Squall's hand, glad to have the connection.

"So," Cloud finally murmurs, once Ellone has tilted Squall's head forward again and resumed the haircut, "You really have to cut it that much?"

Ellone can't seem to help the smile on her face. Squall is the one who answers. "I didn't mind the long hair, but it's too prone to get stuck in the drivesuit helmet and I don’t pull off the braid the way Lea does. If we're to be piloting something, I'd rather not have my hair get in the way. I asked my sister to cut it back for me, and this short was better than getting some kind of bob."

Cloud hums a little.

“I think you look dashing with your hair either length.” Ellone says. She turns off the clippers, setting them aside and brushing at Squall’s neck to remove any unwanted clippings. When she’s done, she tilts Squall’s head back and kisses his forehead. “Looking good, little brother.”

“Thanks, big sis.” Squall murmurs, and Cloud can feel a swell of warmth filling his chest. Squall squeezes their joined hands, and Cloud smiles faintly at the gesture.

Ellone steps away, finding her son and tugging at his arm. “Sora, why don’t you leave that for a moment and come help me bring some dinner for the four of us? I’m sure Cloud and your uncle would appreciate it.”

“But, Mom, I’m almost done--” Sora starts, though he’s not struggling against his mother’s grasp as much as he could.

Cloud has to hide his laughter at the look Ellone gives her son before the two of them march out of the room, leaving silence in their wake. When he glances over, Squall is smiling fondly.

“She’s always known when to leave me be.” He murmurs, shaking his head. “Guess she knew we had things we should talk about.”

Cloud nods, something thick settling in his throat, threatening to keep him from speaking. Eventually, he finds his voice again and asks, “How long was I out?”

“A few hours.” Squall answers, voice just as quiet as Cloud’s. “I’ve stayed nearby; didn’t feel like going out and facing the rumor mill.”

Right--everyone in the Radiant Garden ‘dome had probably heard about their failed simulation attempt. Cloud isn’t particularly excited to go out and hear people whispering behind his back, either. His expression darkens, but Squall shifts and pulls the blonde’s hand a little closer.

“But you seem...mildly alright. More rested?”

“Yeah. Kinda took a lot out of me.” Cloud feels his face turn pink, and he can’t bring himself to meet Squall’s eyes. “Never been so exhausted before when that happened.”

Squall nods a little, eyes scanning Cloud’s face with concern. “I’m sorry.” He says, a repeat of what he’d said in the simulator. “I didn’t mean to make you relive all of that.”

“It sucked, yeah. Didn’t ever want to go through it again.” After a moment, Cloud says, “I’ll be alright, though. If I lived through the real thing, I can handle the memory of it.”

Squall doesn’t look entirely convinced, and Cloud feels guilt coloring the very edges of his thoughts. “Look, Cloud--I know you want to make it up to both of the Marshalls, but you don’t have to do this. You don’t have to pilot a jaeger ever again, if you don’t want to.”

“Yeah, I don’t have to. But I can and I want to.” Cloud nods. “And it’s not like we’ve got people lining up to take my place, anyway.”

That earns Cloud a tiny smile. Squall shakes his head. “Guess not.”

They both fall silent, content to be quiet for a little while. Their hands remain intertwined, and Cloud can’t help the way he leans forward to rest his forehead against Squall’s. The brunette meets him halfway, and any last trace of guilt or shame leaves Cloud’s mind.

“...We should try the simulator more, though.” Cloud murmurs. “So we don’t do that in a real fight.”

Squall’s breathy laughs fills his ears, and he cannot forget the way his copilot’s eyes crinkle at the edges. “I think we can manage that.”

Something evens out between them, and Cloud is hopeful for this partnership.

**Author's Note:**

> i find almost too much enjoyment in writing ellone and sora as mother and son. it feels too perfect for me. this was fun to write in general--minus the action sequence at the front, because i am in sore need of practice writing action scenes. anyway, hope you enjoyed it, and glad to be so far through the week already!
> 
> you can find me on tumblr at x-eternalmagic or howdomaddie, and on twitter as @howdomaddie! if you enjoyed this, please leave me a comment and tell me what you liked most! i promise it will make my day.


End file.
